Can you get Hepatitis B from kissing?

Say that... hypothetically speaking, of course... a guy who had gotten Hepatitis B five or six years ago meets a guy who he is crazy about and they have extensive deep-throat kissing scenes every time they get together. No fucking, no rimming, no BJ... just kissing.

What are the chances of him passing Hep B to his new guy, or compromising his own Hep B status by kissing the new guy?

In order to be exposed to viral hepatitis, the person you're kissing would need to actually have viral hepatitis. In other words, you can't catch what isn't there. Also, the viruses that cause hepatitis are basically spread through blood and bodily fluids (hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hepatitis D) and fecal-oral contact (hepatitis A, hepatitis E). The chance of contracting hepatitis from kissing is therefore small

There are different possibilities depending on whether the Hep B is active or not. He could have had it but now is virus free, or he could still be viremic from it. There's even a possibility that he's "tolerant" to it, i.e. he still has low titers of virus but isn't sick from it based on liver enzymes/liver pathology.

In general, it's passed on by blood and semen, but if the guy kissing him had a break in skin or mucous membranes, he could be infected by the saliva.

But the answer to your question is No you can not get hepatitis B from kissing.

You can get it from sexual contact though. That goes for Hepatitis A-E too..

You mostly contact hepatitis B from blood transmitted from one person to another via blood or fluids contaminated with blood- "i.e mostly though sharing needles". You and your partner would both have to have open wounds in your mouth with a significant amount of blood being transferred.Hepatitis B usually resolves on its own and does not require medical treatment

hepatitis A mostly deals with diarrhea. which Homosexuals males due contract it though sexual actives, which can be contracted through kissing.. if you eat a lot of butt (diarrhea) and then continue to kiss your mate.

hepatitis C is the one you don't want to get that doesn't go away and plays Armageddon on your liver.

Let it be known RealJockers !!!HIV and hepatitis B Virus (HBV) are blood-borne and sexually-transmitted infections that have been found in the saliva. Despite the presence of HIV in saliva, there have never been any reports of HIV transmission via this route.

Oral herpes can of course be transmitted by kissing; that's the usual way it is passed. But oral herpes isn't classified as an STD, unless/until transmitted to the genitals by oral sex. Syphilis in theory can be transmitted by kissing, but that's very rare. No other STD is ever transmitted by kissing, including gonorrhea, chlamydia, HPV/warts, HSV-2, hepatitis, HIV, or anything else.

Most sores in the mouth are canker sores, not due to any STD and not transmissible to other people.

marined8 saidumm 1st of all you could have easily look this up on the internet.

But the answer to your question is No you can not get hepatitis B from kissing....

danger Will Robinson. saying you can't get it from kissing is a bit too definitive. if you look at the CDC website you will see confirmation that the hepatitis B virus CAN be present in saliva (http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HBV/HBVfaq.htm#treatment). having stated that, a little further down in the article, the CDC says it can't be transmitted by 'kissing'... contradictory? maybe. PCR tests on saliva show clearly the virus is shed in saliva. hence universal precautions require dental hygienists, dentists and other clinicians exposed to saliva and/or 'aerosols' of saliva ('spray') to protect themselves with masks to avoid inhalation. hepatitis B virus is commonly referred to as 'much more easily transmissable' than HIV. it would be easy to concoct a scenario in which kissing could spread the infection.

having said all that, the above post indicating that someone without HBV can't spread HBV is correct. if the person had the disease in the past and 'cleared it', he/she will be hepatitis B surface antibody positive (HBV surf Ab+) and thus will not have the disease.

marined8 saidLet it be known RealJockers !!!HIV and hepatitis B Virus (HBV) are blood-borne and sexually-transmitted infections that have been found in the saliva. Despite the presence of HIV in saliva, there have never been any reports of HIV transmission via this route.

Oral herpes can of course be transmitted by kissing; that's the usual way it is passed. But oral herpes isn't classified as an STD, unless/until transmitted to the genitals by oral sex. Syphilis in theory can be transmitted by kissing, but that's very rare. No other STD is ever transmitted by kissing, including gonorrhea, chlamydia, HPV/warts, HSV-2, hepatitis, HIV, or anything else.

Most sores in the mouth are canker sores, not due to any STD and not transmissible to other people.

oh my.... this is 'dangerous certainty' bud. i treat patients everyday in which i KNOW STDs are spread by kissing. HSV1 and HSV2 both can be, human herpes virus 8 (HHV8 ) is shed largely in the saliva... HHV8's presence is a necessary but not sufficient requirement for the development of kaposi's sarcoma. and the medical literature is full of anecdotal, and by exclusion, cases of 'possible' HIV spread through oral/genital contact.

I even copied and pasted from the CDC website. So to say there is an highly good chance from contacting Hepatitis B and HIV from kissing is false. also to say some parts what i said earlier that there is No chance of contracting it through kissing is in correct too. but I also said there is significant amounts of blood in the saliva though an open wound in the mouth. But chances are remote

"It depends on the type of kissing. There is no risk from closed-mouth kissing.

There are extremely rare cases of HIV being transmitted via deep “French” kissing but in each case, infected blood was exchanged due to bleeding gums or sores in the mouth. Because of this remote risk, it is recommended that individuals who are HIV-infected avoid deep, open-mouth “French” kissing with a non-infected partner, as there is a potential risk of transferring infected blood. Summary:

There is no risk of transmission closed-mouth kissing. There is a remote risk from deep, open-mouth kissing if there are sores or bleeding gums and blood is exchanged. Therefore, persons living with HIV should avoid this behavior with a non-infected partner."